Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large. 

Throw money at it

A friend of mine, who recently adopted a dog, have decided to pay for professional service for certain things, instead of doing it herself. She calls it “Throwing money at the problem.” Let the pros handle giving the dog the biannual bath, and clipping its nails. I think it’s a brilliant strategy. The point of earning money is to make our lives easier - rather than to buy more things. Mundane tasks that aren’t enjoyable should be outsourced if possible. It gives you more time to do the things you actually like. In that friend’s case, it’s watching Succession.

She’s also hires a mobile detailer to come wash her car from time to time. While personally I’m not at that level of income, I think it’s worth considering having my BMW M2 professionally detailed every few years. Most of the time the car is sat outside in the elements, and these days I’m not as consistent in washing it as I was back in my early 20s. Detail the car every two weeks? Who the French has time for that.

It’s been nearly three years since I bought the M2, and I think the time is right to enlist professional help. To take three years’ worth of accumulation off the paint, polish it up nicely, then put on a layer of ceramic coating on top. The latter is important because ceramic coating is like a semi-permanent wax that last for years. It protects the paint from UV damage and prevents outside elements from sticking to it. Car wash becomes dead easy because I can simply to hose off the car at local wash. Only periodically would I need to bring out the towels and cleaning solution.

I previously had such a service done to my 2013 Subaru WRX STI, a rather long time ago. I skipped the service on the 2016 Mazda Miata because the car is tiny and it takes little effort to wash. The 2015 Porsche 911 GT3 already had ceramic coating done by the previous owner, which was a nice bonus. I’ve lagged on getting the M2 done because at the time I lacked the money to throw at the problem.

It seems I’ve got the money now!

First pho.